To coordinate a weekend is easier said than done so we just picked a date and agreed to decide closer to the time to see if was a goer.

Right on cue the forecast was really poor. I almost bailed out, not fancying spending a weekend in the rain with grumpy kids. However it was said kids who convinced me I was the grumpy one and we decided to give it a go. We had planned a trip to upper Eskdale but the weather looked truly awful so we plumped on a less ambitious route into the Howgills.

The Saturday morning was as horrid as the forecast, several hours of ceaseless rain had us lounging about Mark’s place while he filled us up with a nourishing soup. We headed out anyway and as luck would have it got delayed by a traffic jam on the M6 long enough for the rain to have pretty much stopped by the time we parked up. All packed and ready to go we headed for the hills

The original plan had been to walk up Carlingill Beck. Its a superb valley and has possible camp spots at the far end. The wet weather had the streams in spate though and crossing them would have been a challenge. We changed tack and headed up and around the head of Carlingill by going over Linghaw and picking up an interesting looking traversing path high above the waterfalls at the head of the valley

The horses kept us company clearly waiting for us to disappear so they could get up to mischief, more of this later

Considering how poor the forecast had been the weather wasn’t all that bad. It had stopped raining and whilst it was windy, the cloud lifted a bit and we had views of a sort

We easily picked up the high level traversing path and what a find (thanks to Mark). Even in gloomy weather it was a real delight, easy, yet elevated high above the deep cleft of Carlingill Beck

We even had a few glimpses of sunshine on the valley below

The path cut across the top of the dramatic Black Force

The kids seemed in great spirits and were enjoying the challenge of the walk into the wilds

There were even steam crossings to delight and amuse for young and old alike

It was just a short walk from there to Blakethwaite Bottom, our intended pitch, having read favourable reviews online as a great spot. It was seriously windy and exposed but we found a great spot on the far side sheltered enough to make sitting outside the tents quite pleasent.

The Hardman had a new tent to try out, an enormous 3 -person Vango affair, in a discrete scarlet colour

I lent Mark my large Lightwave 3 person tent for him and two of his dangerous offspring. He was very taken with it. So taken I’ve lent it to him long term as his kids are really taking to the wild camping and this tent really hits that 3 person spot. I don’t have much use for it any more (TJS prefers to sleep solo when there’s the three of us – I snore apparently as well) and I’d much rather see it in use than under my bed gathering dust

We had a really enjoyable time cooking tea, messing about and having a laugh. The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves and being outdoors with a trio of middle-aged grey hikers

We even had some brief sunny spells and decided to take an evening walk up Uldale Head

It was brutally steep and when crested the top, amazingly windy.

We had a few fleeting views but the real fun was had from surfing in the wind. The smiles on the faces below tell how much we all enjoyed being kids. We also discovered that turning cagoules inside out made a fairly effective parachute to drag us around the summit. I forgot to take photos alas

It had been cracking day, all the better for the fact we hadn’t expected to get much out of it other than a soaking and long periods sat in the tent. In the event we only went under canvas when it was time for bed after an improvised game of Petanques with rocks, many brews of tea and lots of biscuits

We woke the next morning with company. A small gathering of wild horses and ponies on our doorstep. A bacon breakfast got the day off to a grand start

Soon there was celebrity death-match between some cows and the horses. The cows won and spent an age just stood close by looking at us curiously, nudging each other out the way for a closer look. Very comical. I’ve had a few run ins with cows recently but these were harmless if a little disconcerting but soon dispersed with a little encouragement

We didn’t want to hang around as the forecast was for strengthening winds and rain in the afternoon. We packed up and headed back down but were hit by the only bad weather of the weekend. We walked straight into a cold deluge that had us all soaked within seconds and for a short period it was deeply unpleasent. It stopped soon enough though and apart from a few short sprinkles we stayed dry the rest of the day

We dropped back down to Carlingill Beck by the side of Black Force. An impressive ravine and extremely steep so we took our time. Again I think the kids enjoyed the challenge and the rain hadn’t doused their spirits in any way

We had a brief lunch by the river and embraced the challenge of a couple of river crossings

The walk along Carlingill Beck is superb and provided a fitting finish to what was a superb if short trip out to the wilds

I wasn’t sure how the kids would take to a wild camp in less than perfect conditions but they were all superb company. My abiding memory of the weekend was smiles and laughter. They took everything in their stride and were a pleasure to be with from start to finish. For me, there was a real sense of pride that they enjoyed it far more than I hoped and seemed to share in the simple pleasures of just being out in the mountains. Their youthful enthusiasm was infectious and I hope we can do this on a much more regular basis. Cracking stuff. If only those pesky ponies I mentioned hadn’t sheltered by my car and barged into it, denting the front wing, the little pests. Still that’s why we have insurance I guess

That brings my blog back up to date. I’m out of action for a few weeks having just had some minor surgery on my left knee. All went well and healing nicely so blog service will be resumed in a couple of weeks

Like this:

So whats my Blog about?

I spend alot of my time surfing the web looking for ideas on places to go, walking routes, travel ideas and tips to plan the perfect holiday or day out. (I'm a project manager I like to plan). I thought it was time to share my own experiences and contribute to the vast amounts in information that's already out there.

I'll also add in some gear and tech reviews and when something irks me I may even use this forum to have a rant - I do that pretty well I'm told.There are a few pages at the top that give a bit of background to what I like to get up to and what you can expect to see in my posts. I'm not exactly a creative writer but I hope some people will find my stuff useful or inpsiring or at least enjoy some of my photos.

Enjoy!

Follow me by Email subscription

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Flickr Photos

Recent works by my favourite fellow bloggers

or... A tougher day than expectedOvernight our moor has been scrubbed clean and then hurled back inside an industrial washer for an extra rinse cycle. It's morning and we wake to air that brushes silently along flysheets, the kettle's steam slips across the porch to freedom. Everywhere is complete silence.THE FEE BURN THE MORNING AFTER A WILD NIGHT […]

Over the years I have ended up planning to climb Ben Klibreck during the dark end of Autumn. This has never been a very good tactic, as I end up sitting in the van on the road below thinking ‘Perhaps not today’. This is usually due to a big cap of cloud cloaking its summit […]

With high-tide generally falling around the middle of the day and therefore not much beach on offer at that time, we did a tiny bit more exploring than we sometimes do when we are on the Llyn, which is to say: some. We have once before been down to the end of the peninsula, but […]

Hi folks. If you've popped in on here wondering what's going on then please let me explain.This 'blogger' blog is now closed.I'm now blogging on WordPress atTERRY ABRAHAM LAKE DISTRICT VIDEOAll the content I've posted for the past few years can be found there too.Hope to speak with you again soon!Terry

New blog…new first post. Bad time for writer’s block then. Only kidding. Given that I’ve been running from blog to blog like a headless chicken for the past couple of years I thought that a new start with a post about heads rather appropriate. And what better heads to start with than our local Kelpies. […]

My first backpack of the year was the last weekend in March. I had been watching the weather forecast for this week and it looked like it was going to be a cracker. Beautiful spring weather but cold at night. … Continue reading →

The Baxter’s Loch Ness Marathon is held practically on my doorstep, so it would be rude to do others and not this! I ran it in 2014 on the back of 5 weeks off running with an injury, but with … Continue reading →

Over the last few weeks, my main focus has been on swimming. Mike and I have been regular visitors to Ross Back Sands to indulge in a spot of dipping in the briny. The problem was, for me, the fact that I never did much in the way of actually swimming. On our last visit I did manage to take to the water. However, getting caught in cross currents and finding […]

ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN.A day out with Alan and his dog saw us take a trip to the central belt town of Falkirk. This wide surrounding area used to be famous for its iron-works, in particular, metal street furniture like storm drain covers, manholes, electricity and gas plates, or anything else sunk into t […]

When we had finished our walk to see the North Face of Ben Nevis we found we still had some daylight to spare to check out 'Steall Falls' which has been on my 'to do' list for a while.One tip for this walk - avoid busy times, and arrive early/late for parking - there isn't a huge amount and it would be a disappointment after a windin […]

I still don’t know if what happened was real or if a collective paranoia that hit both my friend and I on this trip. One thing is sure, this trip felt like a backwood horror movie. I don’t want to scare … Continue reading →

I moved up to LA county about a month ago before the big move back to Canada. Since I’m going to be here for a couple months, I figured I’d create a food bucket list and discover my favorite restaurants … Continue reading →

Along with autumn, spring and summer, winter is one of my favourite seasons. Of late in the WoW household we’ve been hunkered down, hatching plots and not getting out as much as we’d like. However, the opportunity arose and was swiftly taken to decamp to Islay for a short week (one up from a long … Continue reading →

(Photo courtesy of Ali Ogden) As most of you will know, I’m a big fan of umbrellas for backpacking. For the past few years I’ve been using a cheap M&S collapsible umbrella either hand held or strapped to my rucksack. If the weather isn’t too windy, it’s a great way to stay dry and comfortable. … Continue reading Snow Peak Ultralight Umbrella → […]

A book of Gaelic haiku poems to accompany my wild land photographs had been an idea ruminating in the depths of my own wild imagination for some time. Having taken the plunge and self published the Little Book of Gaiku I was amazed to be contacted by Scotland on Sunday newspaper for a half page spread on what was believed to be the first full volume of Gaeli […]

Lochnagar from Invercauld through Ballochbuie Forest and via the Prince’s Stone. Return around the back of the Stuic and the shoulder of Carn an t-Sagairt Beag. 17th January 2017 Lochnager from Keiloch Scottish Hills Lochnagar and the White Month

Well, this blog has run its course in this format for 5 whole years and before that another 3 as a mountain blog and it is time to draw down the shutters and say Adieu. Come say hello on Twitter @rightprofile or Facebook therightprofile it would be great to keep up with all the blogs I read. So it…Read more ADIEU

Fourth of July week was spent visiting family back in South Dakota. I had a great time seeing my parents, siblings (all 6 of us got together for my Dad's 80th birthday!), nieces, nephews, and aunt. (Not to mention both my kids got time off work and were able to come) But 10 days in a hot, dry prairie climate had me longing for the cool green forests […]

One of the benefits of moving to Taunton is that Dartmoor, previously far enough that visits needed to be overnight, is now near enough, not just for day trips, but to ‘pop to’ for a few hours. This has finally allowed me our 5-year old to join the Dartmoor Ranger Ralph Club, and on Wednesday […]

Montane Featherlite 23 Day Pack Review The Montane Featherlite 23 Day Pack, from outdoor retailer Nevisport, is the perfect piece of outdoor equipment if you are looking for a pack that is incredibly light, fully breathable, waterproof and durable. The Montane Featherlite 23 is a durably tough and extremely lightweight multi-activity day pack which can […] T […]

You know.. I can’t have kids and don’t want to have my own.. so we’re good there.. life and me we’re good there… we shook hands on it, gave each other a wink and laughed. : ) No need for pity… My art are my kids… every photograph (in front/behind the camera), every poem, every […]

We’re extremely lucky to live where we do. In as little as 3.4 miles from our front door, we can reach an idyllic little spot on the slopes of Kinder, for an easy night out. Of course if you wish, … Continue reading →

The weather forecast mentioned better weather the further east I go today, so it was Nottinghamshire rather than the Peak District I chose...even though Creswell, where I started the walk, is actually just inside Derbyshire. This was my second visit to Creswell Crags, the first time I walked along the road past the main pedestrian entrance and missed most of […]

Unfortunately I've not had the usage out of the old Kona that I'd hoped but I managed a little jaunt the other day. I didn't have much time so it was really a micro adventure but it's always good to get out for an overnighter even close to home. I left home in Helensburgh at 5pm so daylight was always going to be in short supply, a quick […]

In English: Holy smoke – Gathering of mobile Saunas. Part1. Can You imagine that there exist Saunas on wheels? Can You imagine that they meet every summer? I guess that nobody. Since 2005 in Teuva there has been organized mobile Sauna gathering. In 2016 they were cancelled. When You see my photos, You might say […]

Do you feel like you’re missing out on saving money because you never have the right coupon or store loyalty card on hand? A world of discounts is available to shoppers but accessing those discounts isn’t easy. Is the new … Continue reading →

Deze post in het Nederlands: Klik hier.This post is written with the intention to give a detailed account of a large number of wild orchids which can be found in the Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantabrica in Spanish) of northern Spain. To be more specific, those species that I've managed to photograph during the past year. Of many species I have pu […]